Riding Into the Winner's Circle

For members of Dickinson's equestrian team, success comes on and off horseback

by Tony Moore

Excuse the pun, but Dickinson鈥檚 equestrian team is riding high. Out of the 35 members of the team, 10 have earned All-Academic honors, four of them First Team.

鈥淚t鈥檚 no surprise to me that so many members received these academic honors,鈥� says Lindsay Vulich, the equestrian team鈥檚 coach since 2004. 鈥淭heir ability to quickly grasp their training exercises is outstanding. Their academic standing is apparent because of their attention to detail.鈥�

Vulich isn鈥檛 alone in seeing the link between academics and riding.

鈥淏oth require you to correct mistakes quickly, persevere and think on your feet,鈥� says Kirsten Dedrickson 鈥�15, a philosophy and computer science double major from Pasadena, Md., who earned First Team All-Academic honors.

鈥淩iding teaches students a lot about responsibility and discipline,鈥� says Callan Donovan 鈥�16, a biology and biochemistry & molecular biology double major from Falmouth, Maine, who made Second Team. 鈥淗orses are a lot of work, and overall, horseback riding has made me a more mature and responsible person.鈥�

All-Academic Awards are bestowed by the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA). First Team honorees have achieved a 3.8 GPA or higher, while the Second Team includes students achieving a 3.5 or higher.

Of course, if it were all about academic honors, it wouldn鈥檛 be much of a sport鈥攐r nearly as much fun.

鈥淢y favorite part about being on the equestrian team is being able to get off campus and just ride,鈥� says Donovan, who has qualified for , to be held on May 1 at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg. 鈥淚t鈥檚 my stress reliever, and it鈥檚 my favorite part of the week. Joining the team at Dickinson is a great way to meet a great group of people, and it鈥檚 one of the best decisions I have ever made.鈥�

Learn more

To find out more about Dickinson鈥檚 equestrian team, including how to join, check out the
Read "Saddle Up," a 2011 Dickinson Magazine feature on the team
Club sports at Dickinson

Published April 29, 2014

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